By Alisha Alexander
As the good old saying goes, “In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you came from.” With that in mind, allow me to take you on a road trip, when I first learnt about Create Caribbean and how my experience so far has been as an intern. Caution: we might experience some turbulence but do sit back and enjoy the ride.
September, 2015.
I was a freshman at college and on my way to my first Digital Humanities Class. Keep in mind, I do not know what this class is about, where it is and I have exactly ten minutes to get to class. How great… Luckily, I met a student who was on her way to class as well. Exhales.
The next hour passed by so quickly. The class was better than I initially expected and it was in that time I was introduced to Dr. Esprit and in that time, I learnt about Create Caribbean.
Pitstop; learning about Create Caribbean and the interns.
The initial idea was to get my dear friend, Josh, to join Create. The guy is a computer genius! When I say he is good, I mean he’s good. So being the observer that I was, I knew that Josh would be the kind of intern that Dr. Esprit needed… kind of. I mean, the guy knows his stuff and is good at it. But the catch was, if he signed up, I had to as well. I really wasn’t sure if I would fit in and wasn’t even sure what I would offer to Create. With nothing to lose, I signed up with Josh. I did the interview and was a nervous wreck but I guess you can figure out what happened next; won’t have been your tour guide if I hadn’t gotten in.
Even before joining, I thought that all the interns at Create Caribbean were nerds. And they were. But chill nerds. I remember my classes with Jerrad; most times he looked sleep deprived because he stayed up late to meet deadlines and I sympathized with him and knew it was for a good reason. This along with many other reasons, ultimately lead up to my September 2017 decision.
Ladies and Gentlemen, now to the final stop of our journey. The place I call “My Home, Away from Home”. I’m very much aware that our physical home was destroyed, but home isn’t just a building. It’s the appreciation that you feel when you are around the people you have come to cherish and work with. Thus far I have been embraced by the support of the Create Interns. It has truly been fun working with these energetic and focused young people. And to add to this, I am enjoying working on the Carisealand project. Social issues are topics that I hold dear to my heart and being able to explore “Environmental Justice, Poverty & Human Impact” has been a joy. Not to sound biased, but my favorite part to my topic has been Poverty. It has been interesting to see the issues that affect the poor especially after a natural disaster. It’s remarkable hearing the stories of those who have faced poverty and those who indirectly respond to those issues.
TURBULENCE!
As a new intern, one of my biggest challenges so far has been “thinking it through.” I am learning to be cautious and thorough with everything. Just not the way I act, but the way I speak and rationalized things. At Create, I am being groomed to think the situation to the bone of it before I make any drastic decisions. Therefore, my new motto in life is “think it all the way through!”
I know it’s just the beginning but I’m certain that my experience at Create Caribbean is going to be a memorable one.
With this being said, ladies and gentlemen, we have come to the end of our tour. I do hope you’ve enjoyed your journey on the “Alisha’s New Intern Experience Express”. Tips are welcomed!